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It’s getting a little harder for movie theater owners to boast that they offer an entertainment bargain. The average outlay to watch a movie hit $8.12 in Q2, exceeding the previous quarterly high of $8.01 in the last three months of 2010, according to data released today by the National Association of Theater Owners. The ticket price figure represents the average consumer payment, so it reflects both rising fees that theaters charge as well as how many people pay the extra few bucks to see a movie in 3D or IMAX. By that measure, ticket prices fell in the second half of 2011 — by about 2.9% to an average of $7.83 in Q4. The trend began to change in this year’s Q1; the average ticket price was +1.1% to $7.92. But the price jumped another 2.5% in Q2 helped by 3D hits including Marvel’s The Avengers, Fox’s Prometheus, and Pixar’s Brave. But both the prices, and the rate of increase, vary greatly depending on location and theater chain. For example, Regal reported an average Q2 ticket price of $9.11, +3.2% vs Q1, while Carmike — which focuses on small to mid-sized markets — generated $6.91, +1%.
Movie Ticket Prices Rising Again
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Where are those legendary eight buck tickets i keep hearing about? I’ve been paying twelve for more than half a decade (in Toronto and Los Angeles for example).
In Indiana, matinee tickets are either $6.50 or $7.50 and night hows are $9.75 or $10. I almost always go to matinees and never see 3D so it’s still reasonable here.
Don’t worry studio execs. I’ll just find a way to watch the movie I want to see ‘online’. I mean, It’s no wonder why people do not go pay $15 for something that is unoriginal, and uninspiring, yet, you want to spy on people on the internet. Psshhh…
I hate how people keep asking “Where are tickets for $8?” This price factors in ALL showtimes. I live in a major city where at night a ticket for a regular 2D film is $12.50. However, I choose to go in the morning. All AMC chains offer tickets for only $5-$6 if you go before noon everyday of the week. That’s why the cost is so much lower on these reports. If you think $12.5 is too high, then go in the morning when it’s cheaper. But I do agree, $18.50 for an IMAX 3D ticket (even on a REAL IMAX screen) is hard to swallow.
People shouldn’t have to jump through all those hoops.
Simple movie tickets shouldn’t be so damn expensive
I believe morning shows went up to $7 at AMC Century City (unless the Fandango fee is built into the price already when you click on a time).
I really hate AMC and Fandango. That’s why I usually frequent Arclight and Landmark (and Nuart).
I think this must be what it’s like to watch an industry destroy itself in slow motion.
What a surprise!
All theater chains offer group discount tickets between 5 and 8 dollars. Check out their website or your company might offer them. Working advantage.com, entertainment.com or eBay
We are rapidly approaching critical mass. Not good.
-RnsW
Just like the post office. “We’re making less money, lets raise prices.” People who don’t understand economics making economic decisions.
In Australia, we regularly pay $20 for our movie tickets and $15 on “cheap Tuesday”.With Popcorn and drinks, it can cost my family of 4 $120 to go to the movies. Hence we choose our movies carefully.
Ticket prices are too high, especially since service has all but disappeared. (filthy bathrooms, dirty auditoriums, needing to stand in concession line to buy tickets, etc.). But the REAL shocker is the fast rising cost of snacks. $5.50 for a small popcorn? Six bucks for a small soda? Ridiculous. (please don’t bother telling me to bring my own snacks; I get it but am making a point.)
I live in aus and definantly agree with Dave.
Americans can complain about their price and as above claim this is an industry destroying itself.
Australia is proof that movies will make money reguardless of what theaters charge.
You’d think with the Aussie dollar being roughly equal to the USD we would catch a break but then again you guys get gas (petrol) for far less then the rest of the world and complain about that too.
I go to a lot of shows & I’ve learned how to cut corners to save money. I go to a local AMC Theater that charges $6 before noon unless it’s a 3D or IMAX movie. I go on Fandango & buy tickets discounted by 20 pct & the convenience charge is waived since I use the AMC Stubs card & no I don’t work for AMC. I also go to Costco where I get tickets for both Regal & AMC Theatres that averages $8. There are a number of smaller theatres that charge no more than $8 so there are ways to save money & avoid getting gouged.
I don’t mind paying more for a good experience. What I do mind paying for is tons of commercials before the movies, movies which don’t start on time (previews should start before the advertised start time), sticky floors, overpriced snacks, crying babies, and cell phone lights flickering on and off during the show. I have a nice setup at home, and prefer to watch there (3-D is mostly unimpressive on the movies I’ve seen).
We were talking last night about how in our lifetime we watched record stores go from this sacred place to non-existant in pretty much a blink of an eye. Record stores and record companies were charging close to $20 for a new release right before the death rattle.
Movie theaters aren’t paying attention. They should be rolling prices back. People want to go to the movies. They just don’t want to spend $60 on 2 tickets with popcorn and soda’s for a couple.
We’re 5 years away from seeing movies like The Avengers & Dark Knight on Demand on the day they’re released while movie theater spaces are no longer being used for films, but instead being used for lazer tag, go carts and bouncy house parties. It’s coming.
If a theater chain out there wants to stop it, they have to think big and be bold and cut prices to increase the frequency people will show up at their theaters again.
This prediction of 5 years might be too soon, but it’s generally correct. NATO was not pleased when Tower Heist was offered for $50+ VOD on the day it opened in select markets, and threatened to pull the movie nationally.
Technology will eventually crush the bloated content distributors in this industry. When people can get a la carte cable, we’ll see a massive consolidation of channels (killing the 950+ fringe ones that no one watches). When there is an HD TV in every household, there is no need to spend $48 in tickets and another $30 on snacks for a family of 4 at the theaters. And if we’re lucky enough that they do continue to go, it will be less frequent.
The only question is – will the system adapt to these demand shocks, or simple succumb to them like Tower Records?
Btw, this is good for content creators. Look what iTunes did for independent music artists. Look what Louie CK did for online shows.
When the record labels continued to push their $15-20 CDs to maintain incredible profit margins long after the cost of CD manufacturing when way down, consumers knew they were being gouged. One of the reasons I believe listeners started pirating their music is that there was a sense of having been ripped off for years by the labels. I think movie audiences are starting to feel the same way.
I used to see between 10-16 movies a year in the theater. So far this year I saw only two- mostly due to feeling gouged at the theater. (And the alternatives are so much cheaper.) I have completely fallen out of the habit of going to the theater.
I am really confused by the strategy of selling higher priced tickets to fewer and fewer customers
Godforbid above the line talent or people like Jerry bruckheimer don’t make $100,000,000 a year. The movie biz is a license to steal. In this economy the tipping point is approaching where the public will go through another drop on how many movies they see a month at these prices. Will Hollywood be happy when the majors only make 5 pics a year?
I think a bigger part of the problem now (along with the numerous reasons listed above) is the availability of features so quickly on VOD and DVD/Blu-Ray.
When I was a kid and VHS was new it was usually a year or more after a feature was released until it was available on VHS. That made people realize that if they wanted to see the movie they’d better see it while they could. (Also, VHS movies cost $100.00 each and VHS players were pricey.)
Sure, technology has changed and the things are much cheaper to come by nowadays, but if there’s no way to get the feature at home only months after it’s screen debut, it might encourage more trips to the theater.
To successfully do so you’d obviously have to make changes to the theater going experience, but keeping the movies unavailable at home so close to release date certainly seems like it’d be a way to help.
I used to be a first-run exhibitor (we’ve all sinned). We referred to our business as “chair factories” in which our job was to get as many asses in the seats as we could because the distributors took such a huge share of our ticket sales that we had to make our money at the concession stand instead of the box office. Therefore we did everything we could to keep our ticket prices low enough to encourage attendance on the theory that if patrons spent their money on popcorn instead of tickets we would keep more of it. HOWEVER –
– distributors wouldn’t award their pictures to our theatres unless we charged what they considered a “fair” ticket price. (Never mind that the Paramount Consent Decree forbade them from setting ticket prices.) So there we were.
There used to be a graph with one line plotting rising ticket prices and another plotting when people would stop buying them. We crossed the nexus a decade ago, as plummeting admissions clearly proves despite rising grosses. (That’s why nobody dares gives out admissions any more).
With few exceptions, theatres today are the worst places to see movies; Miffy nails it (above). I, too, am tired of pre-show “entertainment,” commercials, cell phones, beepers, texting, talking, babies, and Velveeta from nachos on my seat cushion. And I’m also tired of movies that are shot and edited to look good on home video rather than on the big screen.
Thanks. I had to get that off my aperture plate.
Who the heck buys popcorn and a drink at the movies in this economy?!?!?!? Use that money for a steak dinner instead.
Redbox will have it for $1 in a couple months. It’ll look fine on my 100″ theatre screen at home…as it is, with these prices, I usually just see the 3-4 “must see” movies of the year at the theatres…mainly the “event” films like The Avengers or TDKR.
I’m so sick of these responses in these threads. Some of us like to go to the movies, eat popcorn and have a drink. You don’t because you’re saving every penny. Get over it.
It’s like the people who flood these threads to talk about the $5 matinee they have in their hometown on Wednesday morning at 6am in response to the actual grownups with careers and lives who can only see a movie on a Friday/Saturday night.
We get it you’re thrifty. We’re stupid in your eyes. That said, you’re the minority in this game. Every movie I’ve seen this summer people are eating popcorn and drinking drinks. Get over it.
The bigger issue is the survival of the business. If movie theaters don’t curb the prices and offer some kind of public rollback attendance will erode and theaters will go belly up.
If AMC came out tomorrow and said we’re slashing concession prices 50% & rolling back ticket prices to what they were 10 years ago to help our customers enjoy movies again in this economy they would have families and people beating down their doors.
I’m stunned that a major theater chain hasn’t tried that yet.
It’s time for familys and teenagers to pay their fair share, as you know they must spread the wealth in Hollywood. May big stars are lucky to get $10 to $15 million a picture these days.
I used to see several movies a year; so far, only one: The Amazing Spider-Man, which was screened in a less-than-amazing flickering projection. I paid $9 for a matinee ticket. Before this luxury I had to wait for five minutes behind one group buying expensive popcorn and coke so I could buy my single ticket. The irritating “Where would you like to sit” question then followed (why can’t we just walk in like the old days? The show only had six people in it anyway). Then I had to sit through 20 minutes of commercials and an annoying pre-show. A couple of morons sat behind me talking throughout the movie. Yeah, I’d rather wait a month or two and see it at home for a couple of dollars.
your complaints are crazy, you can stay home to watch basball, eat dinner, and watch your TV…..but people like to go to games, go to restaurants, and go to movies…ever hear of the word fun!! Movies cost the same as a burger a coke and fries at a half way decent burger joint, and always have.
You are right about a movie costing as much as a burger, coke and fries at some fast-food places. I would assume that many people think its a better bargain to spend their $8-$12 on lunch at a fast-food place than on a movie. To them a trip to the movies is not as valuable as a meal and I have to agree. I can go months without going to the movies but I can’t say the same about skipping lunch.
My best friend Redbox and I have a date each week at my home blu ray and 60″ Samsung LCD. No talking no texting no snack munching. Choice is great in America! A movie out 3 months later is more enjoyable than one on “opening weekend.” imagine that, Hollywood!
There’s a three screen,first run,indie theatre near my house that has $5.00 evening shows,$3.75 before 6pm and $2.50 all day Wednesday. Compare that with Harkins 16 with its $7.50 matinees,$10 evenings or the Regal 14 that just opened close by with $8.75 mats & $11 eves. it also has $5 before noon,Harkins is $7 first show.
The only reason i don’t go to the three screen is because it’s a dump in a crappy part of town. I’d rather travel the extra 13 miles to the Harkins 16 in the mall,despite the price increase.